Why is it that teams are so afraid to trade a first round pick, or pay the first round tender for a star player?

An example that comes to mind is Victor Cruz. Word is that the Giants are going to place a first round tender on him if any team sign him. Is a player of that caliber not worth a first rounder? There are so many first round picks that don’t pan out, especially in Buffalo, I would think that trading for a proven producer would make sense, especially for a position of need that would be addressed in the draft.
Thanks

L. Briggs

CB: The Giants front office did say that they actually anticipated there might be an offer sheet from a team or two for Cruz. Obviously teams with lower first-round picks might be more apt to do so than a team with a pick in the top half of round one.

His production is proven, but if you’re a team with a lot of needs at other positions, or you’re a team that doesn’t have a quarterback the caliber of Eli Manning you won’t get the same production out of Cruz thereby decreasing his value.

2 – Hey Chris,

The 3 spots that we expect to see the Bills targeting are LB WR and QB with that being said is there any way that the Bills could try to knock out either 1 or 2 of the needs in the FA period? If they could do that, that would allow them to go with the best player available approach and could wait to get a QB till round 2 or 3.

Thanks Chris,
Josh, Syracuse NY

CB: They’ve addressed OLB with Manny Lawson as everyone knows, but an ILB is still an option along with WR and QB. Buddy Nix has said he thinks the WR position in the draft is deep, which leads me to believe that a WR won’t be added until the draft. Tight end is another position to be addressed so that too has to be targeted. The pickings have gotten slimmer in free agency. I think there is still good value at LB in free agency so I’d anticipate an ILB to be pursued and possibly a TE prior to the draft.

3 – Chris,

Much like you, I strongly believe that teams need to win games upfront on both side of the ball. With that in mind I am throwing out this prediction as Nix seems to be somewhat predictable:

He will draft Tennessee WR Cordarrelle Patterson at 8, then trade up and take a QB (Tyler Wilson?)

Just wondering your thoughts….

I prefer taking the meat and potatoes players because you can win with less than stellar QB play that way. It seems like the Bills over the years are too worried about their skill position players (drafting a lot of 1st round RB’s, reaching for Graham, signing TO, etc)
-Jim

CB: I would be surprised if they go with Patterson at 8. I think with the depth at wide receiver in this draft and the best value at that position being in rounds 2-4 Nix won’t go with a one-year wonder in round one. He typically prefers players with more of a college resume.

I see the Bills going for a receiver somewhere between rounds 2-4. Quarterback will be round 1 or 2. Trading down from eight I think is a realistic possibility to get better value at QB and there are teams I believe that will want to get up in the top 10 to take one of the top end offensive or defensive linemen there.

Trading back into the bottom of round one I believe is a harder ask because Buffalo wants to hold onto their picks only having six right now not parting with picks to move up.

4 – Chris,

What about some of our lesser talked about free agents like Kyle Moore? What’s the likelihood he gets signed to a longer deal with the Bills in the next couple of weeks? I feel like he’s a younger, raw type of athlete that can refine his game to be a decent contributor to the Defense… or at least a replacement for Kelsay. The Bills already have some veteran proven pass rushers on the defense, but I feel they could use a young guy with some upside… for the right price.

Thanks,
Nate in Rochester
PS- Go Bills

CB: It’s difficult to say exactly how the front office feels about Moore. I’m not sure he’s a fit for a multiple front defense because he’s primarily a 4-3 end in terms of his fit. He’s not an OLB in a 3-4 and I don’t know that he has the bulk to line up as a five technique in a 3-4.

Bills GM Buddy Nix did speak to the Toronto Sun about Moore and he said the following.

“We have things we have to do, and things we have to plan to do to keep our own guys, which we will have some, that in the summer we’ll try to get done before the season, or early in the season. And we have to keep those things in mind.”

I don’t know what you take from that comment, but it doesn’t sound to me like the draft is the main focus right now along with filling other positional holes. I’d be surprised if something with Moore happened before then.

5 – Chris,

I am hearing at the combine many head coaches say that they reach out to the players college coaches as part of the evaluation process. Is coach Marrone and OC Hackett being interviewed about former Syracuse players? What if Nassib or another SU player is on the Bills radar? As the former college coach, is Marrone obligated to take the call?

Thanks,
Kevin from Cheektowaga

CB: I did a story on that very predicament that coach Marrone found himself in because he was getting peppered with questions about his Syracuse players by the friends he had in the NFL coaching ranks. Here’s the story on that very subject and how coach Marrone chose to handle it.